Blog (re)Discoveries

I am too often guilty of happily existing within my own little blogosphere of long-time blog friends.  So, I think it's good every once and a while to cruise around and find some new blogs.  One of my favorite ways to do this is to visit the recommendations of blog friends or to visit the bloggers who post artwork or submissions to some of my favorite sites, especially if the art catches my eye and seems similar to my own.  I can usually tell after an initial visit if it's someone I want to add to my google reader.  Today, I wanted to share the two most recent adds to my google reader and invite you to share some of your new additions.
Shortly before Christmas, I discovered Maria's blog "Bubblegum and Duct Tape," which features a wide variety of craft tutorials, cards, etc.  I think many of you would find her blog interesting. I became more intrigued because we have the same name and she now lives very close to where I grew up, so we have very similar back stories. But what really sold me on her site is something she participates in called "Microfiction Monday," hosted by the Stony River blog.  Each Monday, a picture is posted and readers are invited to come up with a caption/story to go with it.  The catch is that it must be 140 words or less.  Here's the photo for next Monday, if you want to give it a whirl:

The other blog I added was actually a rediscovery of an old art friend.  Traci Bautista of CreativityUNLEASED is a terrific artist, author and teacher who I used to run into at classes in the bay area.  She's doing a whole series of art journal prompts this year, including some cool videos.  Her style is very much her own, but it's fun and definitely adapatable to lots of different approaches.  My art journal page at the top of today's post uses an inky paper towel left over from making my journals last weekend. I adhered it with gel medium and added some paint.  It's a very Traci background. I finished off the page with some images and journaling about my resolution to travel outside the U.S. (and, for good measure, I did some actual follow-up to see if our trip to Puebla, Mexico and Belize is in the works or not).

I'd love to hear about your recent blog (re)Discoveries - what they are, how you found them, and why you like them.